Free The Magic Lands by Mark Hockley Page A

your coming, boy. We are a part of the prophecy and the
Wolf knows we are here. This time it will be the Beast who will be
cast down!"
    The badger who had listened
carefully to all of this, looked hard at the man. "All that you say
is true, but things change. Nothing is the same now. The old magic
slumbers, the White Wolf rules unchallenged and his power has grown
more dreadful than can be imagined."
    Dredger offered no response but
gazed up at the sky. "We must journey to The Circle," he announced
abruptly. "There we shall find the true way of things." Quickly he
moved toward Tom, an urgent look about him. "Do you have the map?"
he asked, impatient for an answer.
    "Eh, yes," replied Tom,
wondering how the man could have possibly known.
    "It will show how to reach The
Circle from here," Dredger said, holding out his hand. "Give it to
me."
    Suddenly Tom became reluctant
to give it up. Why should he let this stranger take the map from
him? He looked to Jack and then to the badger but neither
spoke.
    "Come boy," pressed Dredger,
"there is much to be done."
    Very slowly Tom put his hand
inside his shirt and drew out the parchment.
    "There!" cried the tall man,
snatching the map from him and studying it with unmistakable
reverence. "And you say that the old magic is gone." He glared at
Mo with contempt.
    Watching the man pore over the
map, greedily taking in the information recorded there, Tom decided
that as soon as he got it back he would make sure that he never
parted with it again, whatever the circumstances. He felt strangely
possessive about it and anyway, there was something about this man,
Dredger, that he didn't like.
    After a good deal of studying
and thought, Dredger finally handed the parchment back to Tom. "We
must travel north-west," he reported with confidence.
    "And what exactly is this
circle anyway?" spoke up Jack, not liking their new found friend
any more than Tom and regaining some of his old spirit.
    Dredger gave the boy a menacing
glare. "Do not question me, boy," he snarled. "Just do as you are
bid."
    Tom didn't like any of this. He
felt uncomfortable in the big man's company and Jack, now
red-faced, was undoubtedly very angry and rightly so.
    "I think it’s best if we do as
Dredger says," interjected Mo, seeing that there would be trouble
if he did not intercede, "there may be valuable information gained
by a visit to the ancient stone circle. It has always been a holy
place."
    "All right," agreed Tom,
deciding that he could at least trust the badger.
    Jack stared at his friend but
didn't say anything and so, with no further debate, they set off
away from the mirrored archway. Dredger led the way, taking up the
position without being asked and they followed a wooden signpost,
conveniently located just over a nearby verge, ready to guide them
on their journey.
    Somewhere, not so very far
away, a woman dressed all in white stood at the centre of a field
of red poppies. Looking to the south and then the north she began
to walk through the flowers, crushing them beneath her bare feet as
she went. Suddenly she began to laugh and the sound was like a wild
animal’s cry.
     
    Almost as if a lever had been
pulled, the darkness came.
    "I thought it would be daylight
forever," remarked Tom, although now it had arrived, he didn't
actually relish the prospect of the night.
    "Whether it is dark or light,"
stated Dredger coolly, "it makes little difference. Each has its
own advantages and disadvantages. Just keep to my path and you will
be safe enough."
    Tom found these words less than
encouraging and he threw a quick glance in the badger's direction
looking for a response, but Mo's expression did not alter. The
animal seemed oddly resigned. But to what, Tom wasn't sure.
    "When can we rest?" Tom asked
half-heartedly after a few minutes more, expecting Dredger to mock
the suggestion, but to his surprise the man thought the idea a good
one.
    "Soon," he said with certainty,
"we must rest before we reach our goal. We will